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Mauren Schindler MA Thesis Dismantling the Dichotomy of Cowardice and Courage During the American Civil War.pdf (1.27 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
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Dismantling the Dichotomy of Cowardice and Courage in the American Civil War
Author Info
Schindler, Mauren A, Schindler
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1532694510126409
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2018, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History.
Abstract
By examining the lives and battle experiences of three brothers, this thesis explores their perceptions of cowardice and courage as Union soldiers during the American Civil War. Using primary sources from a newly uncovered collection, the Reiter Family Collection, and using a single family, the Bassetts, as a microcosm of both their community and northern society this thesis examines questions such as in the values, motivation, and struggles of loss, remembrance, and survivors guilt. As historians have often understudied the complicated nexus between experiences of cowardice and courage, this research takes an approach not common in the extant literature. What I refer to as the continuum shows that soldiers felt courage and cowardice concurrently. As a result, there was, and is, more to study about cowardice and courage than the obvious dichotomy. This work describes these terms on a continuum, a flexible scale wherein a person can experience cowardice and courage simultaneously. Examining cowardice and courage through the experiences of the Bassett brothers, this thesis explores who the brothers were, where they came from, and how they fit into the greater scheme of Union wartime society. It continues with an analysis of the experiences and perceptions of the brothers and their different cowardly and courageous experiences. Finally, the thesis concludes with a detailed glance at their successful or failed attempts at redemption.
Committee
Kevin Adams, PhD (Advisor)
Leonne Hudson, PhD (Committee Member)
Elaine Frantz (Parsons), PhD (Committee Member)
Pages
108 p.
Subject Headings
American History
;
Gender
;
History
;
Mental Health
;
Military History
Keywords
Civil War
;
New York
;
19th Century
;
Bassett
;
126th New York Infantry
;
33rd New York Infantry
;
Harpers Ferry
;
Gettysburg
;
Cowardice
;
Redemption
;
American History
;
Military History
;
Cultural History
;
Social History
;
Masculinity
;
Victorian Ideals
;
Letters
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
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Citations
Schindler, Schindler, M. A. (2018).
Dismantling the Dichotomy of Cowardice and Courage in the American Civil War
[Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1532694510126409
APA Style (7th edition)
Schindler, Schindler, Mauren.
Dismantling the Dichotomy of Cowardice and Courage in the American Civil War.
2018. Kent State University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1532694510126409.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Schindler, Schindler, Mauren. "Dismantling the Dichotomy of Cowardice and Courage in the American Civil War." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1532694510126409
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
kent1532694510126409
Download Count:
976
Copyright Info
© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.